Criminology

The discussion posed by these statements primarily revolves around one important issue of criminal laws and justice administration system i.e. how subjective should a system be in awarding penalties. The main argument in favor of a greater objective system is that certainty in laws would have a more pronounced deterrence effect. On the other hand, an equally compelling argument in favor of a more subjective system is that laws can never be comprehensive enough to take into account all factors in every situation, thus, needs of justice requiring individual factors to be considered in each case.

The need of the hour, however, is to combine both these propositions to achieve merits of both. This can be done by having a two stage criminal justice system in place. Stage one would be where it is decided whether the accused is guilty of the alleged offence or not. Laws regarding the same must be as objective and certain as possible. In case, it is determined in stage one that the accused is guilty, the courts must proceed to stage two where the quantum of punishment has to be determined. In this stage, the court can afford to be more subjective and take into account all factors in the particular case before it. Depending upon the circumstances, the penalty imposed can vary from a minimum and maximum limit prescribed by law.